News

Flat Rock seeks zoning control on border

From east to west the parcels the village wants in its zoning jurisdiction are on (1) Mine Gap Road north of Kingwood and east of Claremont, (2) a horse farm west of Greenville Highway and south of the town limits, (3) a 90-acre parcel directly west of th

By Bill Moss, Published: June 23, 2012

FLAT ROCK — As the Green River-Tuxedo-Zirconia area begins a community planning process, Flat Rock leaders are seeking to maintain zoning control of several hundred acres bordering the village.

The Village Council has asked the Henderson County Board of Commissioners to allow it to extend extraterritorial zoning to the parcels, which include 80 lots in Kenmure.
From east to west the parcels the village wants in its zoning jurisdiction are on Mine Gap Road north of Kingwood and east of Claremont, a horse farm west of Greenville Highway and south of the town limits, a 90-acre parcel directly west of the horse farm, 39 homes and 41 vacant lots in Kenmure's phase 5 and phase 6, and four large parcels between Kenmure and Lake Falls Road.
"Pinnacle Mountain Road is a natural boundary," said Mayor Bob Staton. "We would like to have everything north of Pinnacle Mountain Road in our jurisdiction." The village is seeking zoning authority, not annexation.
Staton wrote a letter to county commission chairman Tommy Thompson explaining the request and asking for a meeting.
Thompson said he asked planning director Anthony Starr to look at the request and asked county attorney Russ Burrell to look at the legal implications. According to Staton, the policy of the Board of Commissioners since it adopted countywide zoning is not to grant towns permission to extend zoning jurisdiction beyond their boundaries. Under state law, Flat Rock would have the authority to extend its zoning control to a one-mile perimeter if the Board of Commissioners approved.
Thompson said he hasn't decided yet what he thinks about the request and wants to hear from the planner and lawyer first.
Staton acknowledges that it's the county's prerogative to deny Flat Rock's request but said he hoped the commissioners would see the contiguous land as a natural fit for Flat Rock.
"It's compatible with the existing neighborhood," he said of the land-use. "We don't think we're asking for anything that's unreasonable."
The Board of Commissioners created the Green River-Tuxedo-Zirconia planning advisory committee in April and appointed members last month. At the invitation of the Board of Commissioners, the Village Council appointed Anne Coletta as the town's non-voting liaison to the GRTZ planning committee.